"Among messaging app users, 53% use Facebook Messenger, and 45% use Skype," said Tejas Mehta, research analyst, Parks Associates. "These two apps are dominant in this high-growth area. At the beginning of 2014, 34% of U.S. smartphone owners used a messaging app on a monthly basis. The difficulty, especially for new entrants, is turning user growth into revenues."

Parks Associates notes smartphone penetration has exceed 75% of U.S. broadband households, driving growth of OTT messaging apps as users look to avoid costs of SMS messaging services by their mobile operators. As a result, the rapid growth in messaging app usage comes at the cost of text messaging. Parks Associates estimates that global OTT messaging volume will grow from 10 trillion messages in 2013 to nearly 67 trillion messages in 2018, while global text messaging volume will decline from nearly 9 trillion messages in 2013 to just over 6.7 trillion messages in 2018.

Mehta adds that many leading messaging apps such as LINE, WeChat, and Kakao Talk are extending their chat platforms to offer gaming, media, and commerce solutions in order to add revenue streams. Features such as group messaging, image/video sharing, and stickers have also succeeded in building user engagement.

"Very soon messaging will be cloud-based and delivered as a service," Mehta said. "This trend will clip SMS revenues for mobile carriers, traditionally a key revenue source for these companies. Mobile carriers need a multifaceted approach to manage the impact and remain relevant. They must offer value to subscribers through enhanced features and also work with technology partners and third-party service providers to leverage key assets in order to deliver strong value propositions to their subscribers."

The Post-SMS War for Mobile Communications: Text Messaging examines key trends and market drivers in mobile messaging. The report provides forecasts of SMS and OTT messaging volume and global carriers' messaging service revenue from 2013-2018. It also analyzes business model strategies for mobile network operators (MNOs) and mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) to generate and increase revenues from mobile messaging.

About Parks AssociatesParks Associates is an internationally recognized market research and consulting company specializing in emerging consumer technology products and services. Founded in 1986, Parks Associates creates research capital for companies ranging from Fortune 500 to small start-ups through market reports, primary studies, consumer research, custom research, workshops, executive conferences, and annual service subscriptions.

The company's expertise includes digital media and platforms, entertainment and gaming, home networks, Internet and television services, digital health, mobile applications and services, support services, consumer apps, advanced advertising, consumer electronics, energy management, and home control systems and security.